Factories of Death: Japanese Biological Warfare, 1932-1945, and the American Cover-up

Before and During World War II, Japanese scientists conducted experiments on live human beings in a quest to develop a biological warfare program; eventually, their efforts led to the first wartime use of anthrax, small pox, and the plague. But while the horror of similar Nazi experiments paled in comparison, the scientists were granted immunity from the American prosecution of war crimes in exchange for the results of their experiments. Factories of Death is the definitive story of Unit 731, the covert biological warfare group led by Ishii Shiro -- the Josef Mengele of the Pacific Theater. Based on field research in China and Japan, interviews with scientists and victims, and declassified intelligence records, this updated edition continues to uncover Unit 731's legacy: environmental disasters in China, historical revisionism in Japan, America's own biological warfare program, and postwar American and Japanese medical ethics.